Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you to all of our witnesses for being here today.
Dr. Ireland, I would like to start with you.
Biosecurity seems to be a hot topic in Parliament. Not only are we examining it at this committee, but we also have some legislation that we're looking at. It had its first hour of debate on Monday.
In my research for that piece of legislation, I noted that most biosecurity incidents are the result of people who are authorized to be on the farm. Some reports have found that despite those risks.... You mentioned that the CFIA has voluntary biosecurity guidelines for some animal farming sectors. They are developed in co-operation with industry and government, but the adherence to those standards is not a legal requirement. Provincial legislation varies, and we're a very regional country.
Given the threat posed to some sectors by diseases such as avian influenza, which is keeping many scientists up at night, do we need to step it up a bit more and have a legal requirement for adherence? It's more in line with what Mr. Perron was asking about a requirement for stronger national laws and requirements, given the threats posed by some of these diseases.